*** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and links

Tepco is currently releasing 11,500 tons of contaminated water up to 500 times regulated limit.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) began the release of some 11,500 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean Monday from a waste treatment facility at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and said it would begin draining more radioactive water from reactor Nos 5 and 6 within hours.

Tepco is currently releasing 11,500 tons of contaminated water up to 500 times regulated limit.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) began the release of some 11,500 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean Monday from a waste treatment facility at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and said it would begin draining more radioactive water from reactor Nos 5 and 6 within hours.

GLP's best Fuku thread: Thread: *** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and linkstwitter: #citizenperth“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”- Albert Einstein

The operator of the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been accused of trying to block a Diet panel probe into the March 2011 nuclear accident at the facility.

Mitsuhiko Tanaka, a former Diet panel member, submitted a document to the leaders of both chambers of the Diet on Thursday, asking for an investigation into the matter.

Tanaka claims in the document that Tokyo Electric Power Company told the panel last February that the inside of the building housing the plant's No.1 reactor was pitch-dark as it was covered by a sheet, rendering it too dangerous for an onsite inspection to be carried out.

This explanation, he says, led the panel to give up the idea of conducting the on-site inspection. [link to www3.nhk.or.jp] .

Tokyo Electric Power Co. blocked an attempt by a Diet-appointed panel to enter the No. 1 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi complex for an accident investigation last year, saying the unit was "in complete darkness," which was not true, a member of the panel said Thursday.

The panel members were seeking to determine whether important equipment of the No. 1 reactor had suffered damage as a result of the earthquake on March 11, 2011, before ensuing tsunami ravaged the plant and triggered a nuclear crisis. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .

Mitsuhiko Tanaka, a member of the former Diet Panel which was commissioned to investigate the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, said that TEPCO had intentionally misinformed the Panel in order to limit the scope and ability of the investigation.

Tanaka claims in the document that Tokyo Electric Power Company wouldn’t let the panel access the Unit 1 reactor building, which was destroyed by an explosion during the first week of the disaster, and that TEPCO officials told the panel last February that the inside of the reactor building was pitch-black due to the cover placed over the reactor building.

TEPCO officials attempted to further push this story by showing the panel a video of the interior of the reactor building, explaining that the footage was shot before cover was installed. [link to enformable.com] .

Mitsuhiko Tanaka, a member of the former Diet Panel which was commissioned to investigate the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, said that TEPCO had intentionally misinformed the Panel in order to limit the scope and ability of the investigation.

Tanaka claims in the document that Tokyo Electric Power Company wouldn’t let the panel access the Unit 1 reactor building, which was destroyed by an explosion during the first week of the disaster, and that TEPCO officials told the panel last February that the inside of the reactor building was pitch-black due to the cover placed over the reactor building.

TEPCO officials attempted to further push this story by showing the panel a video of the interior of the reactor building, explaining that the footage was shot before cover was installed. [link to enformable.com] .

Quoting: Anonymous Coward 32441628

Would be interesting to post a tally of all reports related to Tepco's 'inaccuracies' and 'obfuscations' since 3.11.11.

Sen. Barbara Boxer is alleging that problems with replacement steam generators at the idled San Onofre nuclear plant were recognized by the plant operator and equipment manufacturer before installation.

Citing a proprietary report by generator manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Democratic senator from California said Wednesday that some further safety modifications to the San Onofre generators were rejected by Mitsubishi and the plant operator in part because it might require a more rigorous review by federal safety regulators.

The nuclear commission already had the cited report but has not made it public because it contains proprietary information, said Victor Dricks, a spokesman for the agency.

Edison declined to share the report, saying it belonged to Mitsubishi.

The owner of a shuttered Southern California nuclear power plant was aware of problems with its new steam generators before they were installed, two lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing a report by the maker of the equipment.

In a letter to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane, Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Edward Markey said a 2012 document by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, maker of the San Onofre power plant's steam generators, found that some safety modifications were rejected by both Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and plant owner Southern California Edison due to "unacceptable consequences." [link to www.nucpros.com] .

POINT BEACH NRC NOTIFICATION OF UNUSUAL EVENT: LOSS OF OFFSITE POWER TO ESSENTIAL BUSES FOR GREATER THAN 15 MINUTES

At 1132 CST on 2/6/13, Point Beach Unit 1 experienced a loss of all offsite power due to the loss of 1X-03 High Voltage Station Aux Transformer. The high side circuit switcher opened. However, the 1X-03 transformer did not lock out resulting in G-01 and G-03 Emergency Diesels energizing the 1A-05 and 1A-06 4160 VAC busses (safety related)."

The cause of the loss of offsite power is being investigated. In order to exit the event, the plant requires either 345 kV power to be restored or cross-tie plant power between the units. If cross-tied, Technical Specifications require the gas turbine to be placed on the cross-tie within 24 hours. The plant remained at 100% power and there was no effect on Unit 2. [link to www.nucpros.com] .

POINT BEACH NRC NOTIFICATION OF UNUSUAL EVENT: LOSS OF OFFSITE POWER TO ESSENTIAL BUSES FOR GREATER THAN 15 MINUTES

At 1132 CST on 2/6/13, Point Beach Unit 1 experienced a loss of all offsite power due to the loss of 1X-03 High Voltage Station Aux Transformer. The high side circuit switcher opened. However, the 1X-03 transformer did not lock out resulting in G-01 and G-03 Emergency Diesels energizing the 1A-05 and 1A-06 4160 VAC busses (safety related)."

The cause of the loss of offsite power is being investigated. In order to exit the event, the plant requires either 345 kV power to be restored or cross-tie plant power between the units. If cross-tied, Technical Specifications require the gas turbine to be placed on the cross-tie within 24 hours. The plant remained at 100% power and there was no effect on Unit 2. [link to www.nucpros.com] .

GLP's best Fuku thread: Thread: *** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and linkstwitter: #citizenperth“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”- Albert Einstein

In a letter to Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Allison Macfarlane, Sen. Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Markey (D-Mass.) said the document from the generators’ manufacturer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, “indicates that Southern California Edison (SCE) and MHI were aware of serious problems with the design of San Onofre nuclear power plant’s replacement steam generators before they were installed. Further, the Report asserts that SCE and MHI rejected enhanced safety modifications and avoided triggering a more rigorous license amendment and safety review process.”

“This is a game-changer,” said Kendra Ulrich, nuclear campaigner for Friends of the Earth. “We applaud Sen. Boxer and Rep. Markey for urging the NRC to take action on this stunning revelation. We knew Edison attempted to avoid the license amendment process back in the mid-2000s, but we didn't know that it would go so far as to refuse needed safety changes to the flawed design in order to do so. This amounts to the willful endangerment of the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Southern California. Given the massive safety and corporate malfeasance implications, we are calling for the immediate release of this document in its entirety.

A former TVA nuclear official learned Wednesday that seven more charges had been filed against him involving his money transactions with his native Iran.

In December, a federal grand jury indicted Bajestani for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by taking $1.5 million from his TVA deferred compensation account and sending $300,000 to his brother-in-law in Iran to invest. TVA fired Bajestani in 2011, claiming he lied about a hardship to withdraw the compensation early.

Kaku on CBS: “This is a game changer… we may have to rewrite all the textbooks” — Concern about monster quake hitting nuclear plant (VIDEO) [link to enenews.com]

[snip]

It’s even more unpredictable. Even an innocent fault off the coast of Fukushima can sustain a 9.0 monster quake, when by rights there should not be a 9.0. In some sense we’re back to the dark ages, realizing that off the coast of the U.S. even an innocent fault may sustain a monster 9.0. […]

People in northern Japan will file a class action lawsuit next month against the government and the operator of the accident-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

About 350 residents of Fukushima, Miyagi, Ibaraki and other prefectures will participate in the action against the national government and Tokyo Electric Power Company.

At a news conference on Friday in Fukushima City, their representatives said they will demand that the defendants reduce the radiation levels of the areas where they have homes to those before the nuclear accident in March 2011.

They will also seek some 550 dollars per plaintiff per month in compensation for health concerns and damage to their reputations. [link to www3.nhk.or.jp] .

TOKYO — Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) falsified video evidence in order to prevent an on-site check of its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, a former Fukushima plant designer and later a member of the Diet committee tasked with investigating the nuclear crisis claims.

According to Mitsuhiko Tanaka, TEPCO falsely claimed that an inspection was impossible. Pointing to video evidence supposedly shot inside the No. 1 reactor before a cover had been placed on it, TEPCO claimed the structure was now too dark and dangerous to permit inspection. However, Fuji TV reported Friday that it was later discovered the video had been taken after the cover had been installed. [link to www.japantoday.com] .

Tohoku Electric Power Co. is considering raising household electricity rates by around 11 percent on average from July, as its business conditions have worsened due to ballooning fuel costs related to operating thermal power plants to make up for the loss of nuclear energy, sources close to the matter said Friday.

The utility will possibly apply for government approval next week to implement the first electricity rate increase for households in 33 years. But the hike by the company covering the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan, which was hit hard by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, could adversely affect reconstruction efforts in the area. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .

The Japanese government decided Friday to form a new panel to oversee the decommissioning of the four reactors at the accident-stricken Fukushima Daiichi complex, comprised of related ministries, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. and domestic plant makers.

The establishment of the panel follows the launch of a new government led by Prime Shinzo Abe, who has vowed to accelerate the decommissioning work that will involve technology development to remove the melted fuel left inside three crippled reactors. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .

On February 6th, workers started operations targeting a steel truss which was precariously angled across the top of the spent fuel pool around 10:37 in the morning. Two and a half hours into the operation around 13:01, the steel truss broke into two pieces, delaying the extraction process over an hour. The radiation levels near the upper part of the spent fuel pool where the debris removal work was carried out was reported to be between 21.3 mSvh/hr and 25.6 mSv/hr.

After the steel truss operation was completed, workers noted that the fuel handling mast, a 1.5 ton extendable pole used to lift the grip up and down when moving fuel assemblies had disappeared and likely sunk into the spent fuel pool. [link to enformable.com] .

New England states and other parts of the Northeast are battening down the hatches in anticipation of a winter storm dubbed “Nemo” by the Weather Channel.

As with other significant storms, nuclear power plants that could be affected will be required to make preparations. These are actions such as ensuring that fuel oil tanks are adequately filled; that there are no materials on plant grounds that could become airborne missiles amid high winds; and that water-tight doors and other openings are properly closed in the event flooding becomes an issue.

NRC inspectors stationed at all operating plants on a full-time basis will likewise be busy, as they independently verify the facilities – particularly the Pilgrim plant in Massachusetts and the Seabrook plant in New Hampshire — are positioned for whatever wicked weather comes their way. To help guide those evaluations, the inspectors will follow a procedure and checklist focused on adverse weather protection. [link to www.nucpros.com] .

On February 6th, workers started operations targeting a steel truss which was precariously angled across the top of the spent fuel pool around 10:37 in the morning. Two and a half hours into the operation around 13:01, the steel truss broke into two pieces, delaying the extraction process over an hour. The radiation levels near the upper part of the spent fuel pool where the debris removal work was carried out was reported to be between 21.3 mSvh/hr and 25.6 mSv/hr.

After the steel truss operation was completed, workers noted that the fuel handling mast, a 1.5 ton extendable pole used to lift the grip up and down when moving fuel assemblies had disappeared and likely sunk into the spent fuel pool. [link to enformable.com]

"Well-behaved women seldom make history." —Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale

<snip>Friday, 8 February 2013Is the Increase in Baby Deaths in the US a Result of Fukushima Fallout? <snip>

by JANETTE D. SHERMAN, MD And JOSEPH MANGANOU.S. babies are dying at an increased rate. While the United States spends billions on medical care, as of 2006, the US ranked 28th in the world in infant mortality, more than twice that of the lowest ranked countries. (DHHS, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics. Health United States 2010, Table 20, p. 131, February 2011.)....

GLP's best Fuku thread: Thread: *** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and linkstwitter: #citizenperth“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”- Albert Einstein

US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed US commitment to prevent Iran from securing a nuclear weapon.

Kerry told reporters in Washington on Friday that Iran revealed in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has made a different kind of centrifuge for uranium enrichment.

He said President Barack Obama has made it clear that his preference is to have diplomatic solutions, but if he cannot get there, he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to make certain that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. [link to www3.nhk.or.jp] .

TOKYO — People whose homes or farms were hit by radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant will file class-action lawsuits next month to seek damages from the Japanese government, lawyers said Friday.

At least 350 residents are to file a case with Fukushima District Court on March 11, the second anniversary of the disaster, the lawyers said, describing it as the largest class-action on the issue against the state.

The plaintiffs, who are also scheduled to sue plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, plan to seek 50,000 yen in compensation for every month they have been displaced by the disaster. [link to www.japantoday.com] .

TOKYO — People whose homes or farms were hit by radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant will file class-action lawsuits next month to seek damages from the Japanese government, lawyers said Friday.

At least 350 residents are to file a case with Fukushima District Court on March 11, the second anniversary of the disaster, the lawyers said, describing it as the largest class-action on the issue against the state.

The plaintiffs, who are also scheduled to sue plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, plan to seek 50,000 yen in compensation for every month they have been displaced by the disaster. [link to www.japantoday.com] .

GLP's best Fuku thread: Thread: *** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and linkstwitter: #citizenperth“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”- Albert Einstein

GLP's best Fuku thread: Thread: *** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and linkstwitter: #citizenperth“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I would use the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I knew the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”- Albert Einstein